Hey All,
I have a Hifly Free 98 litre board. Its a few years old. Ive only used it 15 or 20 times. It had a small hole in it and when I took it to be repaired, they told me it had become delamintaed and it was shot. I wonder if anyone else has had this experience. Is there in fact no hope for it. Im going to call Hifly to see what they say, but I was wondering if anyone has attempted a repair on this type of problem and if anyone has any advice.
Thanks.

I have had a bic delam, and the shop gave me new one since it was still under warranty. If the board looks like it is in very good shape besides the delam for only being used 15- 20 times i would argue that that is not even a full year of use. Good luck.
Angus

My JP wave board delaminated and exploded during a full speed run at the delta. The board bottom broke about 15 inches in front of the fin box, flopped open, then ripped the bottom side out all the way through the back of the board. In the process it threw me head first through (yes - through, not around) my sail. At the time I did not know what to look for in delaminating boards, and the board was only 3-years old so nothing was expected.

You can press solidly on the bottom of your board and see how much give there is. That will tell you how much separation is occurring inside the board core. That flexing is what eventually cracks the outer shell and destroys the board.

If you are doing light lake sailing or just learning you can probably just sail the board til it dies. If sailing more agressive conditions you really can not afford to have a failing board in open ocean or more critical situations. For me - unknowingly sailing to board failure cost me my trip to the delta and a significant sail repair as well.

As far as I know there is no cure for a delaminating board, and no real value either... sorry. Time to shop.

I had a HiFly Matrix and put a crack and a hole into it. I repaired it with an Epoxy stick, which everyone said wouldnt work because of the construction of the board (I think your board has the same construction?). The repair worked fine for a full year before I sold the rig.

The HiHly boards advertise three layers of carbon Kevalar in the nose. Not the case there is one layer. I have a 04 Move that suffered massive destruction of the nose. First repair was with an epoxy stick. Then I did a proper repair grinding the delamed and damaged material away and replacing foam core where needed and then laying down 4 layers of carbon with West System a bit of sanding and fairing the next day and the board was better than new. If you are willing and able to do it proper the board will be just as strong if not stronger than new.

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